Town Curse
This article is about detrimental Town Curses which the caster places on enemy Towns. For spells that grant bonuses to a caster's own Towns, see Town Enchantment. Town Curse is a Spell Type and category of spells in Master of Magic. Like other curses, Town Curses are meant to have a persistent negative effect - lasting as long as the curse remains in play. Town Curses must be cast on the overland map, have low-to-medium Casting Costs, and always require an Upkeep Cost to be paid to keep them active. There are a total of only 5 different Town Curses in Master of Magic. 4 of them belong to the Realm, and can turn enemy Towns unproductive or kill their citizens. The remaining Town Curse belongs to the Realm, and its effect causes direct damage to a Town and to everything inside it. The other realms do not possess any Town Curses, instead focusing on Town Enchantments. Wizards can only get rid of an enemy's Town Curses by casting or on the tile of the affected Town; although the curse's own caster may cancel it manually to conserve when necessary. Usage All Town Curses must be cast on the overland map, and must be targeted at an enemy Town. Their Casting Costs are low/medium compared to other overland spells, and are typically proportional to the strength of the curse. Furthermore, each Town Curse requires a certain Upkeep Cost, paid in at the start of each turn, in order to stay in play. Failure to pay this Upkeep Cost due to lack of causes the Town Curse to dissipate. If Spell Animations are enabled in the game's Settings, the successful casting of a Town Curse will open a cityscape view of the affected Town, where a short animation will introduce the curse's visible effect on the City. This will then remain active as long as the Town Curse is, whenever the Town is inspected through the City Screen. The spell's name, printed in the banner color of the casting Wizard, will also appear in the city enchantment window. A single Town may not have two instances of the same Town Curse affecting it simultaneously, whether cast by the same or different players. Getting Rid of Town Curses The owner of a Town Curse can voluntarily cancel it, by opening the City Screen of the cursed Town, and then clicking on the spell's name in the city enchantment window. This brings up a confirmation dialog, from which the spell can be ended immediately. This option is only available during the caster's own turn, while not in combat, and is usually done in order to conserve . Wizards may also cast the or spells in an attempt to remove all Town Curses from a City. When used on a tile containing a Town, these spells will target every enemy Town Curse present. The game will make an individual dispelling attempt against each separate Town Curse, removing the ones against which the disenchant succeeds, but leaving those for which it fails. The chance of success depends on the invested into the spell, versus the Casting Cost of the curse, although certain Retorts can also influence this for both sides. Effects Town Curses are used either for causing direct damage to a Town and its garrison, or for hindering its productivity. This is why they can only be cast on enemy Towns. The opposite of this are Town Enchantments, which bestow bonuses and should be cast on friendly Cities. Town Curses are often cast on the strongest or most productive enemy Towns, as this will usually cause the most damage to the enemy's economy. For example, a City that produces more is a better target for a spell than one that barely produces any at all. Naturally, if is abundant, it may be worthwhile to try and place Town Curses on each and every enemy Town. If a Town Curse or any other effect has caused a City to diminish in size or importance, it could also be worth evaluating whether to cancel a Town Curse instead of keeping it running. It may or may not still have enough impact to justify maintaining it. For example, once a Town's population has been depleted by a spell, there may not be any reason to keep the spell going, especially given its high Upkeep Cost. Permanent and Temporary Effects While the effects of Town Curses are typically temporary, any damage they cause to the affected Town is permanent, and will not be undone by simply removing the curse. Destroyed Town Buildings need to be rebuilt, and lost population or garrison troops must be re-acquired through "natural" means. A good example of a purely temporary effect is the spell, which halves the in the targeted Town. The penalty is applied to the City as soon as the curse is cast, and will remain there constantly while the spell is in effect. However, the moment is removed from play, the penalty disappears immediately, and the Town's returns to normal. , on the other hand, is quite the opposite: lost citizens will not reappear when the spell is removed - the Town has to slowly and painstakingly grow back to its former size. Therefore, may no longer be required once it's laid waste to an enemy City - the damage is already done. However, it may nonetheless be worth maintaining it, simply to keep the rival Town in its reduced state. Knowing whether a Town Curse's effects are temporary or permanent can be important when deciding whether to keep paying for it. List of Town Curses The list below details each of the 5 Town Curses available in the game. Category:Spell Types Category:Town Curses